Jumping

In the children’s area of the church we attend Joshua was up on stage after Sunday School. The floor of the stage is a good 3-4 feet off the ground. Joshua saw me walk up and that daredevil gleam in his eyes took over. As I walked closer to the stage he started to pace backwards. I came to within about four feet of the stage and that’s when my BASE jumper of a son took off, running as fast as he could and then with one fluid motion his right knee came up and he leapt off his left foot, spreading his arms wide and legs gliding behind him flying through the air into my waiting arms!

Oh if you could have seen Joshua’s face! Eyes wider than saucers! Mouth open wide flashing a brilliant smile and those arms, those precious arms wide open wide in full abandonment mode!

We both giggled and laughed and I spun him around in a circle before gently letting him land with both feet secure on solid ground once again.

One time was not enough for an adventure like this. We did the same scenario over and over and over again. Four times in a row. Each time with me a little further from the stage and each time Joshua running a little faster and jumping a little higher.

Joshua jumped off the stage four times in a row.

Of the four times, how many times did Joshua wholeheartedly believe that I would catch him?

… Every time! Every time! Every time! Every time!

The waiting arms of his father caught him every single time. And if we did it forty more times, I would have caught him every time!

My iWitness…

When was the last time you bounded off the stage of life into the loving arms of the Father?
When was the last time you recklessly ran and jumped with full abandonment?
When was the last time you colored outside the lines without questioning or doubting?

Who told you that the way to live life is to hunker down and not move from where you are?
Who told you that the abundant life is found in the safety of your own predictable bubble?

What keeps us stuck on stage in the same ol same routine and rut?
What keeps us from living with reckless and faithful abandon?

I was talking with a very good friend of mine yesterday who has faithfully “jumped” twice over the last few years into waiting arms of the Father in a career move. And why not? He is the one who told her to… She is having a blast! Life has never been more exciting! Appropriately her name is Faith!

What is keeping you from leaping? From jumping? From trusting that you will be caught?
Why not go out on a limb?
I mean, after all, Jesus did…with arms open wide...

In the garden of Gethsemane on the night before he died Jesus said, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22.42)

May God’s will be done in our lives with reckless abandonment in the full knowledge of knowing that when we leap we will be caught, over and over and over and over again!

That’s my iWitness…
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!

Indicator lights

It was time to take Joshua to his basketball game yesterday. With great anticipation and excitement Joshua along with his basketball jumped into the backseat alongside his sister Faith. I put the key in the ignition, buckled up, put on the steering wheel heater, the seat heater and placed my hand on the stick to shift into reverse.

There it was… shining bright. Staring me right in the face, as if to say, “Hello? Have you not been paying attention to me? I am here to remind you that you are about to run out of gas!!!”

The fuel tank indicator light! How did I not see this sooner? I wondered how long it had been on. Typically when it has come on in the past I have about 45 miles to go before I am running on fumes. I pressed the “Fuel/Mileage” button on the center console. It would tell me how many miles I had left to empty – The DTE (distance to empty) button.

It registered 12 miles to empty. I thought, “No problem! The gas station is only a mile or so up the road.” I backed out of the garage and into the street, placed the car in drive and then looked at the DTE one more time. Now it registered “#”. Not even a number. A hashtag? Was my car getting ready to tweet?

Off I drove with a little fear and trepidation. Faith and Joshua, from the backseat kept asking over and over, “Are we going to run out of gas? Are we going to run out of gas?” My response, was quick with confidence, “Of course not!”

My iWitness…

Don’t you wish that we had some kind of indicator light that would flash in front of our eyes and shout, “Hey David (insert your own name here!), you are almost out of gas! Take some time out to refuel or else you are going to find yourself stranded in the middle of the road during rush hour, in the middle of nowhere with no oasis in sight or perhaps running late to an impending important time sensitive appointment."

What kind of refueling do we need? Physical? Emotional? Mental? Spiritual?
Where do we go to get such fuel? Wherever we go, is it the type of fuel that really does fill us up? Is it the type of fuel that satisfies?

Or is it type of fuel that drains? That type of fuel that deceives usinto thinking that we are getting what we need when in fact it is sucking us dry of everything we have, leaving us bone dry.

Who tells you when you are almost on empty? What indicator lights do you look upon to let you know that it is time to “filler up”?

After working hard to create the world and all that inhabits it, even God took a day to rest. Following that model even Jesus took time to be by himself, to pray, to rest, to worship.

How bout you?

Perhaps this post today, on a Sunday, the Sabbath day is a Fuel indicator light saying:
Time to rest.
Time to refuel.
Time to unwind.
Time to slow down.
Time to say “No” to a few requests.
Time to reprioritize a few things.
Time to do that which God took time to do… Rest!

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46. 10)

“So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it, God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (Genesis 2. 3)

Wow! Would you look at the time? 2:35 a.m. – Time to rest and refuel...

And that’s my iWitness…
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!

The voice of Faith

I received an email from the school district yesterday morning at 5:34 a.m. letting me know that there would be a two hour delay to the start of school due to fog. I looked out the window and it was completely dark and for all I knew it was snowing. As the sun rose, sure enough - dense fog.

With the extra time in the morning we ate breakfast a little later than usual. I was standing in the kitchen when my daughter Faith casually walked by and in a very matter of fact way said, "Daddy, can I talk to you about something?"

Eight words from my daughter was all it took to set the ears of my heart on fire. How this daddy loves to hear the voice of his children...

I sat down opposite from Faith at the dining room table. With her big, expresive blue eyes staring right into mine she said, "Dad, we (Faith, Joshua and Julie) were at the store yesterday and I saw this really nice necklace and I was wondering if I could get it today."

My first thought was, "YES! YES!! Let's go get that necklace right this moment because I love you so much and I want to give you the world and the fact that you wanted to talk to me about it just made my day, and yes honey you do have me wrapped around your little pinky in case anybody asks."

Instead we talked about how much it cost and what the necklace looked like and what store it was at. I offered the thought that maybe she could get it for her birthday (4 months from now). She wasn't too fond of waiting that long. Eventually we left at "We will see." Faith said, "OK" and with that she swung her feet around and off the dining room bench, smiled at me and bounded off to do something else.

Julie and I talked later that evening. Faith will get the necklace for Valentine's Day. Of course, Faith does not know this, but we do. She will only have to wait only one month instead of four.

Needless to say, this little conversation was everything but "little." The fact that my daughter wanted to talk to me, her Daddy, made my day. I hope and pray that we have thousands more of these "talk to you about something" moments.

My iWitness...

How the Father loves to hear the voice of His children!

Do you believe that?
Do you believe that the Father longs to hear your voice?
Do you believe that the ears of His heart are set ablaze when you utter His most majestic name?
Do you know that the Father revels and basks to be in your heart of hearts and just about falls over Himself to have "heart to heart" talks with you?
Do you know that Jesus literally (not figuratively) died to be able to talk with you voice to voice, face to face and heart to heart?
Do you believe that the fog of our lives just might give us the two hour delay we need to take a moment and say to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, "Abba, Father can I talk to you about something?"
Do you know that you can approach His throne of grace with great confidence and with no fear and that you will be accepted just as you are at the dining table of grace?
Do you believe that the Lord delights in giving to us the desires of our hearts and that maybe, just maybe He is simply waiting for us to ask Him?

Well... maybe today you will...

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37.4

"Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4. 14-16)

And that's my iWitness...
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!

Quarters and parking meters...

I had to go downtown yesterday to get my haircut. All the downtown parking spaces have parking meters. One quarter will buy you 30 minutes of parking.

As I was approaching the building that I needed to go into I noticed that all the parking spaces directly in front of the Salon were taken, so I quickly pulled over to a parking spot one block south of my destination. I parked and started to get out of the car when I realized that the parking meter was only a 20 minute parking meter. Frustrated, I jumped back in the car, put the car in drive, crossed the street and found a parking spot on the left side of the one way street I was on.

Noticing I was becoming late for my appointment my fingers were having trouble finding two quarters in the console. Quarters found I jumped out of the car and started to place the two quarters in the meter only to discover that this meter had one hour and forty four minutes left on the timer!

I stared at the meter in disbelief and looked on the other side of the meter to make sure I was not somehow being deceived. I actually looked around like I was on Candid Camera or something. I could not believe my good fortune.

I dropped the two quarters in my coat pocket, looked both ways (even though it was a one way street!) and crossed over to the other side. As I jumped up on to the opposing curb, I had to make my way past a fancy sports car that was parked right in front of the entrance to the Salon. As I started to reach for the heavy brass doors I happened to turn and look over my left shoulder. Flashing before me in bright red lights was the word "Expired" on the parking meter for this sports car.

I started to turn back to the entrance when I laughed out loud and  stopped dead in my tracks. I reached into my coat pocket, grabbed  my two quarters and walked over to the meter and quickly dropped two quarters into the slot to offer this sports car sixty more minutes of parking without being in jeopardy of a violation.

I quickly surveyed the area. No one in sight. I made my way into the salon with a big smile on my face and heart and got my hair cut.

My iWitness...
Two things struck me about this occasion...

1. The debt has been paid. I am all worried about how I am going to come up with the money to pay for the parking meter of life so that I can sufficiently pay off the debt for parking my life on this world for however many years I am going to live. I get to the meter only to discover someone else has paid the debt.

That person is Jesus!

I am in violation. My time has expired. I don't have enough quarters in this world to pay my debt. And the reality is the fact that Jesus has already paid the debt with His life on the cross and my sins are forgiven forever and ever.

The Christian life is not about what I do. It's all about what Christ has already done. He has paid the debt. We have been released, free to go, free to pursue life, free to love, free to be the person God made us to be. Praise God that Jesus has done what I could not do for myself... paid the debt.

"You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorfiy God in your body."
                                                                                                       (I Corinthians 6. 19-20)


2. How much fun was that to pay it forward for the owner of that sports car! Not begrudgingly, not under compulsion, not forced to do it, but rather with a skip in my step and laughter on my lips I shared the joy of being set free by passing on that good news to someone else. You can too!

Maybe you just had to be there, but I got the biggest kick out of that yesterday.

That's my iWitness...
Laugh often and Fear Not,
David!

Sticks and stones...

In the late summer of 1966 a groundbreaking ceremony took place to begin construction on the World Trade Center Twin Towers. The North Tower (#1) was completed in December of 1970. The South Tower (#2) was completed in July of 1971.

It took 4 years 4 months and 4 years 11 months to build the two tallest towers in the New York City skyline. For over thirty years they stood tall as a strong, sturdy and secure symbol of the financial district in the Big Apple.

In the late summer of 2001 it took only took 90 minutes to bring them down...

I talked with a friend of mine today. We could not be more different. I'm a big city boy.  He's from a rural small town. I'm all bright lights and center stage and he's behind the curtain sweeping the floors. I'm all about the gel in the hair, making it look just right and he knows that God doesn't have to stretch too far in the arithmetic arena in counting the hairs on his balding head.

As much as we are different, our similarities outweigh the differences. Both college boys. Both have great wives. Both have young energy draining kids. Both have good secure jobs. Both are very sensitive when it comes to our feelings and our feelings getting hurt.

I didn't have to see him to know that his eyes were teeming with tears to near overflowing. His boss was quick with the tongue in uttering a slight, a slam, a slur and in less time than it took for you to read this sentence down he went.

Oh he didn't show it at the moment. No way, no how. Too proud. Too strong. And yet there he was... belittled, berated and broken. Wounded warrior. Shoulders slumped. Chin quivering. Lips stretched taut. All over one word. One two syllable word that tore through his psyche and soul faster than a speeding bullet.

Whoever coined the phrase "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me", I would like to take them down a back alley and beat the daylights out of them (figuratively of course!!).  I have never had any bones broken by sticks and stones, but boy oh boy I have been sliced and diced with razor sharp words.

My iWitness...

The scriptures are pretty clear about the use of the tongue and how hurtful it can be.

Let me offer this. It's easy to take down the "Twin Towers" of somebody's self-esteem and self-worth. Anybody can be negative and nasty. Anybody. There's no great challenge in that.

But we are not just anybody are we? No! Not today. Not this week! Not anymore.

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." (Ephesians 4. 29)

We are the builders of the "Twin Towers" of self-esteem and self-worth.
Discover just how little effort it takes to make someone's day with a positive word of encouragement. Offer a genuine compliment. Notice something that no one else notices. Tell someone just one thing that you really like about them. And then next week tell them something else that you like about them.

"You are so good at meeting people." "I marvel at the way you make cooking look so easy and effortless." "You make that dress look really nice on you." "I am always so impressed with your work ethic." "Your laughter and smile just light up the room." "You are such a good listener." "I know that I can always count on you."

How long do you want me to keep going?

To my dear readers... "I am so humbled that you would take the time to read these words. My heart has been so moved by your comments, your prayers and your support. How blessed am I to have such wonderful people in my life and in my world! Thank you!!! We only have 355 more days to go... Oh my!!"

Let's keep building each other up...

Laugh often and Fear not!
David!

Coming Home

Her name is Louise. She's married and has four boys. She's been surrounded by five testerone driven boys who became men her whole life. Pink does not exist in her house. No dress up dresses. Easy bake ovens never darkened the door. All four boys are handsome, winsome, intelligent, self-starters, funny and laughter fills her home as she smiles just at the thought of each of them. She is the quintessential proud Italian mom who gets upset if you don't eat all of her pasta and drink her red wine.

Louise loves to laugh! She has that contagious laugh that makes you laugh just because she's laughing. Louise is not too much of a computer whiz. Or at least she wasn't when she met Julie, my wife.

Julie was the computer specialist at a well known consulting firm in Milwaukee and the phone rang often from Louise who would beg Julie, "Could you just come up here and take a quick look at my computer. I don't think it will take long." It usually didn't. But in these almost daily treks Julie and Louise became fast friends. Julie became like a daughter to Louise, with Julie always giving Louise the juicy details of her life that boys never seem to do.

Louise and her five grown men. What a sight. What love. What joy. What a family!

And then one day twelve years ago the second to the youngest son joined a cult and moved away. Letters were written disavowing his love and his membership in the family. He was gone... just like that.

I don't mean to stereotype but this devout Roman Catholic Italian family loving mom was not going to be deterred in her pursuit to get her son back. After him she went and she came home empty handed and broken hearted. Her prayers for a reunion were answered with silence for twelve years.

She sought my counsel. With two daughters of my own who have not talked to me since 1998, I understood her pain, frustration and heartache firsthand. I would watch Julie and Louise cry together and it made me cry with them. "Pray and hope" became her mantra.  Every time we talked with Louise or saw her in person we would see the shake of the head indicating, "No word...but pray and hope!"

Oh sure, laughter still filled her home but muted just a bit. Oh sure the boys would come over for dinner with their families but there was always that empty seat...

We moved to Dubuque, Iowa at the end of March in 2012 and Louise, living just 3 hours away was our first house guest.  She hadn't been in our home for 24 hours before her husband called from Milwaukee to say that their estranged son had called, "out of the blue! "

You know us men... Louise was yearning for every detail and her husband had about 10 words to say about the conversation. We all sat on the back patio and cried. We didn't know what it meant but her mantra remained steady and true... "Pray and hope."

Christmas day 2012 was the greatest homecoming in  Louise's life.
On the day that we celebrate the son of God coming into our world, Louise celebrated her son coming home along with his wife and two children.

The prodigal son came home! The brothers rejoiced! Mom and Dad were ecstatic. And as the father in Jesus' parable said, "Let us eat and celebrate! For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.  And they began to celebrate" so too did Louise and her family, together again. Empty seat filled to overflowing! Merry Christmas!

Sunday rolled around and the whole family. I mean the whole family went to church. And do you know what Father Tim preached on?
Unconditional love and forgiveness... what a day!

After church the whole family went out to breakfast. Right after the food came one of the other sons stood up and offered a toast... "to Louise, to mom for her unconditional love!"

Here's to you Louise! I raise my glass to you this day! It's going to be a great year 2013!

And to you O God, I raise my full glass, my weak voice, my wounded heart and my hopeful eyes and I say, "Here's to you, the Master of bringing us home..."

"I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29. 11)

Pray and hope, pray and hope... I will Louise. I will...

And that's my iWitness...
Laugh Often and Fear Not!
David!

Names

One of the fun things about any kind of preaching is the fact that you have to "practice" what you preach. Yesterday we talked about "breathing normally" when things start going awry.

Wouldn't you know it. Not less than six hours after writing about Jesus coming into our midst and encouraging us to breathe deep His peace, I was put to the test at the airport.

My flight was scheduled to depart at 12:30 with an hour layover in Dallas, Texas (the absolutely largest, biggest airport in the history of airports!!!). Everything was going great. I made it through security without a hitch. I even had time to grab a sandwich and a Jack Reacher novel to read on the plane.

Standing at the gate I noticed on the board behind the gate agent's head that the departure time now read 12:45, not 12:30. The automatic slide show on the board then mentioned that the flight time was 3 hours and 40 minutes. I did some quick calculations and figured I still had time to make my connection. I was still breathing normally...

Five minutes later the new departure time shouted out 1:00 pm!! Wait a minute! What's going on here? The gate agent made some announcement which I could not understand due to his soft and mumbling voice. I did some more quick calculations. There was no way I was going to make  my connection. My breathing became erratic. My heart rate quickened. Breathing normally was out of the question. I had to make my connection. I was not about the spend the night at the airport in Dallas, Texas.

I quickly approached the mumbling gate agent's counterpart. Her name tag said, "JOY".  My concerned face was met with a big smile and bright sparkling eyes. I said, "Your name is perfect for a situation like this." Her perky southern accent did not disappoint. "Why yes it is! How may I help you?" I mentioned my predicament about making my connection and having to navigate my way through at least 10 miles of terminals at DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport) to get to my connecting gate. Her bright attitude did not diminish. "Oh, you will have no problem. I was there just last week with only a fifteen minute layover and I made it with no problem." Her bright smile was blinding.

Resigned to this fact that there was nothing I could do I looked at her and said, "They say 'Joy comes in the morning', but I see that Joy comes in the afternoon as well." She drawled, "That's right. Joy lasts all day long." And with that I walked away.

The plane took off at 1:00 pm. We landed and were at the gate in Dallas at 6:48. My flight was at 7:10. I ran and I ran and boarded some type of tram and then got off of that and ran and ran and got to my gate and the gate agent was standing in the terminal looking right and left for perhaps one more passenger. Our eyes locked and she said, "Cedar Rapids?" I panted, "Yes!" She said, "Come on! Let's go!" And with that I boarded the plane as the flight attendant was checking her watch. I was the last one on. A minute later the door closed and we were off... I offered a quick prayer thanking God for providing enough time for me to make the flight and my breathing became normal once again...

My iWitness...

What name dominates your frame of heart? When other people think of you what name do they come up with? "Cranky pants? Impatience? Dependable? Encouraging? Negativity? Pollyanna? Faithful? Joy?"

Joy lived up to her name! In a moment of doubt and erratic breathing she breathed out "joy" into my foggy world. Thank God for Joy.

What name will we live up to today?

"Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes in the morning." (Psalm 30. 5)

Laugh often! Fear not!
David!